No ruling yet on motions to suppress murder case evidence

DOVER — No ruling has been made in the motions for suppression in the murder case of 22-year-old Farmington man Ryan Stewart, who was stabbed to death in January of 2012.

Attorneys for Christopher Gay, 28, one of two men charged with second-degree murder in Stewart’s case, filed three motions to suppress evidence gathered before Gay’s arrest.

Defense attorneys Andrew Cotrupi and Richard Samdperil filed motions to suppress evidence gathered at Gay’s Bunker Street address in Farmington through a search warrant which was obtained after a K9 unit trailed a scent from the scene of the homicide, on Worster Street, to the home at 29 Bunker St.

The also filed motions to suppress the actual K9 trailing on the private property of 29 Bunker St. The final motion is for the statement Gay made to police before his arrest, when he was being detained and voluntarily questioned.

At the time a body search warrant was issued for Gay. Police picked him up and brought him to the station in handcuffs via a police cruiser. According to multiple testimonies over the past two days, they removed the cuffs before questioning.

Police testified they made it clear to Gay that while they were questioning him, he was free to abstain from answering. However, because of the soon-to-be executed body search, Gay was not free to leave the station.

While Gay was held, officers never read him his Miranda rights.

“When you’re in custody, you need to be read your Miranda rights,” said Cotrupi. However, Miranda rights are only required to be read if a subject is in custody. The state clarifies detainment does not qualify as being in custody. But, defense attorneys say that while Gay was able to abstain from conversation and questioning, he was not allowed to leave, which they declare as being in custody.

The K9 search conducted by Rochester Sgt. Keith Mackenzie and his bloodhound Daisy Mae started at the scene of the crime, 11 Worster St. on the evening into morning of Jan. 21 and 22. Daisy Mae trailed a scent of skin rafts, or skin particles that slough off the body during any type of movement, from near the crime scene to the home at 29 Bunker St.

There she trailed the scent up the driveway and through the backyard, as well as along the base of the home.

In the past a K9 search of this type would be considered minimally invasive. However a recent Supreme Court ruling declared that a K9 searching on the private property qualified as a search which requires a warrant. In that case, the drug-sniffing dog was brought directly to the property of a man who police suspected was growing marijuana.

“If a dog wants to come on my property and play Frisbee, he can,” said Cotrupi, “but if he wants to come on my property to search, he needs a warrant.”

Cotrupi said he considers the dog a tool used for conducting a search.

If the dog search is ruled illegal, then the search warrants that were obtained through it and the evidence gathered though them may also be suppressed.

Police searched the home at 29 Bunker St., Gay’s car and his body. Police reported collecting evidence including bloody sneakers, a knife with blood on the tip, and an envelope with Stewart’s name on it.

Cory Bennett, 23, the other man charged in the murder of Stewart, did not file any motions of suppression, but evidence against him that was gathered through the search warrants may be affected by the ruling.

Over the past two days, the state presented its case, arguing that police had other evidence including the testimony of a witness who heard the scuffle that took place in an apartment at 11 Worster St. before the murder, as well as video footage from police department surveillance cameras which showed two figures entering the building and running from the scene just before the 911 call came in.

Through five witnesses they claimed the dog search was legal as it began at the crime scene merely trailing the scent to Gay’s home, and did not involve a search of the home nor the property on Bunker Street.

Farmington Sgt. Brian Driscoll and former Sgt. Scott Ferguson, as well as former Farmington Officer Colin Wheeler testified along with N.H. Major Crimes Unit Detective Sgt. Brian Strong and State Trooper Jeffrey Ardini on behalf of the state.

Defense presented a single witness, Mackenzie, who testified that his dog did search the property but only for the skin rafts. Before the remaining witnesses were presented, both sides agreed to end the hearing and present the remainder of their cases in writing.

Both the state and defense are required to submit written pleadings within the next 20 days at which point Judge Kenneth Brown will review the information and make a ruling.

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